How to Amend Birth Certificates
for Minors

There
are several state statutes and regulations which govern the process to amend birth records.
Depending on the item being amended, the procedures that you need to follow will vary. Below
are some of the common questions and answers regarding amending minors birth records. If
your situation is not addressed or if you would like to verify the information needed, please
contact the Amendment Unit at (785) 296-1434.

Note: We reserve the right to accept or decline requests using information you
provide or we may require that additional court records be obtained to process the amendment
in order to insure that we are in compliance with the state statutes and regulations.

Customer Question: How do I put the father on the birth certificate?

Answer: If the child is under the age of 18 years of age, and there
is no father listed on the birth certificate, and the mother was not married to anyone
at any time between conception and the birth of the child, the mother and the father can
appear before a judge of district court in any Kansas county and complete a Paternity
Consent Form for Birth Registration called a VS211.PDF Format
:: Word Format

You do not need an attorney to appear before the judge and there is
no court cost.

Contact the clerk of the district court to set up an appointment to
complete this form. You will need to take a certified copy of the child’s birth
certificate with you and some form of identification for both “parents.”

Once the form has been completed at the courthouse, the clerk will mail
it to our office.

NOTE: If there is man’s name already listed on the birth
certificate or if the mother was married to anyone either at conception, birth, or anytime
in between, you CANNOT use the VS211 form. You will need to contact our office
for further instructions.

Customer question: How do I change my child’s last name?

Answer: It will depend on what last name you want to change your child’s
last name to. The following are five different answers from which you can select the one
which best describes your situation.

1. If you want to change the child’s last name to the natural
father’s name, and the child is under the age of 18 years old, the mother and father
need to appear before a judge of district court in any Kansas county and complete a Paternity
Consent Form for Birth Registration called a VS211. PDF Formatfor Paternity Consent
:: Word Formatfor Paternity Consent

You do not need an attorney to appear before the judge and there is
no court cost.

Contact the clerk of district court to set up an appointment to use
this form. You will need to take a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate
with you and some form of identification for both “parents.”

Once the form has been completed at the courthouse, the clerk
will mail the form to our office.

This procedure also applies to hyphenating the child’s
last name with mother’s maiden surname and father’s last name.

If you want to change the child’s last name to mother’s
maiden surname and there is a father’s name listed on the birth certificate, you
need to follow the same procedure.

If you want to change the child’s last name to mother’s
maiden surname, and there is no father listed on the birth certificate, and the mother
was not married to anyone during her pregnancy, the mother can appear before a judge
of district court in any Kansas county and complete a Paternity
Consent Form for Birth Registration called a VS211. PDF Formatfor Paternity Consent Form
:: Word Formatfor Paternity Consent Form

If you want to change the child’s last name to a name
other then the mother’s maiden surname or the natural father’s name, then
you will need to obtain a legal name change through the courts, following the statute
K.S.A. 60-1402. You may need an attorney for this procedure.

Once the legal name change has been granted, you will need to submit
a certified copy of the court order to our office with a cover letter stating what you
want us to do.

Customer question: We’ve been to court to determine the father or
get child support. What do I need to do to get the father listed on the birth?

Answer: If you have already been to court to determine paternity or
establish child support, you need to send our office a certified copy of the court order.
We will also need additional information on the father: full name, date of birth, place
of birth, race, highest grade level and Social Security number (if he has one).

Once we have the request, we will review it to make sure that the court
order is in compliance with state statutes and regulations. At that time, we will notify
you if additional documentation and/or fees are needed.

Note: if the court order does not specifically change the child’s
name, then we will not change the child’s last name to father’s. You will
need to follow the procedure above regarding changing the child’s name to the natural
father’s name.

Customer question: My child’s name does not appear on his/her birth
certificate. How do I get his or her name listed?

Contact the clerk of district court to set up an appointment to use
this form. You will need to take a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate
with you and some form of identification for both “parents.”

Once the form has been completed at the courthouse, the clerk will mail
it to our office.

Customer question: The mother or father’s name is misspelled on my
child’s birth certificate. What do we need to do to fix it?

You do not need an attorney to appear before the judge and there is
no court cost.

Contact the clerk of district court to set up an appointment to use
this form. You will need to take a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate
with you and some form of identification for both “parents.”

Once the form has been completed at the courthouse, the clerk will mail
it to our office.

Customer question: How can I correct an error with my child's date of birth, time of birth, or sex?

Answer: The answer is the same whether we are amending the child’s
date of birth or time of birth.

You need to provide us with the hospital verification as to the correct
date of birth or time of birth or sex. This can be done by contacting the hospital. Once
you have the verification, send it our office with a notarized statement requesting the
amendment to be done. If there are two parents listed on the birth certificate, then both
parents need to sign the notarized statement. Click
here for a sample of a notarized statement.

Customer question: The mother's or father’s date of birth or place
of birth is incorrect. What do we need to do to fix it?

Answer: The answer is the same whether we are amending a parent’s
date of birth or place of birth.

Please provide us with a certified copy of the parent’s birth
certificate to verify the correct information. We also need a notarized statement requesting
that the amendment be done. If there are two parents listed on the birth certificate,
then both parents need to sign the notarized statement. Click
here for a sample of a notarized statement.